National Equity Fund Acquires Midwest 32-Property Portfolio
The acquisition expands the company's presence in a market where it previously had limited exposure.
National Equity Fund has acquired St. Louis Equity Fund Inc.’s properties and fund management portfolio. The acquisition includes 32 properties and nearly 2,000 homes located across the St. Louis metro. A purchase price was not disclosed.
The properties included in the sale were spread across 13 funds and represent more than $200 million in equity. According to the companies, the deal is intended to support the long-term stability of the communities, which are home to low-income individuals, families, seniors and people with disabilities.
NEF acquired the portfolio after SLEFI spent the past several years evaluating ways to stabilize its holdings. Since its founding in 1988, SLEFI has raised more than $500 million through 155 partnerships to support the creation of more than 5,000 affordable homes in Missouri and Illinois.
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According to Yardi Matrix, SLEFI owns Osage Estates, a 72-unit partially affordable community in Pacific, Mo. The company purchased the asset for $1.6 million in 2011. Approximately 40 percent of the units are affordable, the same source shows.
With this trade, NEF is expanding in the St. Louis market, where it previously lacked a significant ownership and management presence.
NEF expands national platform
The acquisition of SLEFI’s portfolio follows NEF’s continued expansion in the affordable housing sector. In May, the organization purchased National Affordable Housing Trust’s property and fund management portfolio. The purchase brought more than 165 properties across 29 funds and 15,000 affordable homes under NEF’s management.
Last September, NEF partnered with Guardian Real Estate Services to preserve a 13-asset, 2,740-unit portfolio in the Portland, Ore. and Albuquerque, N.M., metros with a $444 million investment. It was the largest investment in NEF’s history.
